`Drunken' Car May Put Brakes On Teens

May 12, 1993|By Suzanne G. Hlotke.

Carol Stream — As John Romano of Glendale Heights steered the red Dodge Daytona through the obstacle course, he carefully followed the curves, but it soon became impossible to miss the orange pylon cones.

One by one, they toppled.

The experience only served to reinforce what the 18-year-old already practices. "I don't drink and drive, period," he said.

The Glenbard North senior had just completed a drive of Dodge's Drunk Driving Simulator, which is programmed to make the car react in a way a vehicle would when driven by an intoxicated driver.

About 200 Glenbard North High School students had the opportunity to drive the special car Tuesday in Carol Stream. Another 200 rode as passengers.

The car, built and designed by Dodge, is programmed to take into account the weight of the driver and a hypothetical number of ounces of alcohol and blood-alcohol level. Dodge has made the car available at schools across the country since 1987.

Paul Johnson, a 17-year-old senior, was Romano's passenger in the car. He said he would do whatever he could to prevent an intoxicated person from getting behind the wheel, and he would not enter the car.

"I would value that person's life; I don't want him to go, and I don't want to go with him," he said. "I value my life too."

The car was driven through the parking lot of the high school, and students who watched the simulation were told they should think before they drink and drive during the upcoming prom weekend.

"You need to think twice," Teri Maxwell, a member of the school's student assistance team, told the students. "You don't want to do something stupid."

The simulation was sponsored by Central Du Page Hospital in Winfield, which is also bringing the event to five other Du Page County high schools this week.

Susan Bretz, prevention coordinator of the neurospine program at the hospital, said students need to know that many teens suffer neck or spine injuries as a result of drunken driving accidents. "There is no cure for those injuries," she said.

Marty Warrick, a safety specialist with the hospital, said she remembers her days as a nurse in intensive care, when parents were summoned to the hospital, only to find that their children had been critically injured or killed.

"They need to call their parents (when they do drink) or they will end up killing themselves," she said.

Hospital staff said they were extremely glad that the simulation could be presented prior to prom night.

Maxwell said she can recall no such accidents involving Glenbard North students, and she said the school wants to keep it that way.

"It is an important message," said Fernaz Baqai, a 17-year-old senior from Glendale Heights. "These are the facts of life."